stand4hope

Laurie, You and my sister in Atlanta are in the same boat. Our dad is not well and it just drives her out of her mind to be so far away. I'm sorry you are going through this with your mom and your friend, Jennie. I will pray for all of you. God bless you, Peggy

Terri, I checked out your website. Your dogs are BEAUTIFUL! Is that you on your home page? I'm glad you're back. I did get to see the granddaughter picture earlier today. It's always refreshing to see pictures of babies and kids. Peggy

Translate please?????? Anyone???

Hi Beth and WELCOME! Go ahead - sign in and talk to us. God bless you, Peggy

Cat - He will do just that. Love, Peggy

Don, My husband had a lot of fatigue from lung radiation, but he was also receiving mega doses of chemo at the same time. I will pray that your mom will do well with the radiation. God bless you, Peggy

Hi Sarah and Welcome! I'm so glad that you found this board. I know I was very excited when I found it and now wild horses wouldn't be able to pull me away. In regard to what you were told, I have always adopted this policy: When in doubt, check it out! Keep up posted. God bless you, Peggy

Happy Birthday to the Putz. Happy Birthday to the Putz. Happy Birthday dear Putzo. Happy Birthday to you-o! Peggy P.S. Don't laugh, I got A+'s in literature - they don't teach poetry in Indiana. GO PACERS!!!

Hi and WELCOME, I don't have much knowledge on SCLC, but others will reply to you that do. I have noticed that Cisplatin is frequently the first-line chemo given to SCLC patients. Is that what your husband is getting? If yes, I think Cisplatin is one of the ones that tends to cause a little more nausea than some of the others. Can you call his oncologist to see if he/she will prescribe something for the nausea? Once again, welcome. Please write to us often and let us know how your husband, and you, are doing. God bless you, Peggy

Absolutely, Denise, my prayer has just been delivered. Keep us posted. God bless you, Peggy

Hey Terri, I think that most of us understand that you just didn't understand about the duplicate posts. Most of us also know you were just trying to get the word out about how successful these treatments have been for you. We also know you didn't see Katie's messages, and we know that you were just trying to help us all out. Now, with that said, I, for one, appreciate your post today about not selling anything, except HOPE. I, personally, would like to see you continue to participate with us and share your progress. I am very interested in how things are going with you and want you to know that I care very much. Now, please get rid of that good-bye picture and come join us for true fellowship, support, love and fun. Ok? Ok. God bless you, Peggy

Fay, I can't add much to Gloria's post. If were ED, though, I sure would run from Becky's bat. Love, Peggy

Curtis, Wow! What a beautiful and deep statement, very helpful, and tremendous insight: Just wow! Love, Peggy

Hi Leona and WELCOME! I like to refer to the combo of chemo and radiation at the same time as "The 1-2 Punch!" It's a big whammee to try to knock the crap out of the cancer right up front. It's sometimes hard to get through, depending on the individual. To me, the caregiver, when it works, it's worth it! and when it doesn't work, it was still worth the try because you just never know who it's going to help. That's a caregiver's perspective. The patient's perspective can be totally different because they are the ones that have to go through it. It's an individual choice and a tough one. My husband started with whole brain radiation by itself, and then had chemo once a week and daily chest radiation treatments at the same time, and it knocked him flat on his back. He did get a lot better and stayed that way for 5 months, and has been working full time since Dec. 3. If he hadn't had it, he might not be with me today - nobody knows. We're having a setback right now, but entering the fight once again. I think as you get more replies from patients, it will better help you to know what to expect. I'm so glad you found us, and please keep us posted how you're doing. God bless you, Peggy

Berisa, It's ok. I think this is just the way it happens. My mom died in Jan. 1999. I shed a lot of tears, but on the first Mother's Day after her death, I cried almost all day. Since then, I've been ok. I just think that's just the way it happens. Sending my love, honey, Peggy

Jamie, Here are Tiny's tips from May 27, 2004: From Newcomers Forum, Posted: Thu May 26, 2004 Subject: Newly diagnosed, questions about surgery -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I will be praying for your dad to have an easy surgery, Jamie. Love, Peggy

Found it quicker than I thought I would. Here it is: http://www.lchelp.com/community/viewtop ... curly+hair

Addie, Here's a thread from April that made me laugh about losing hair. It was before you joined, so I don't know if you saw it. http://www.lchelp.com/community/viewtop ... ght=#63374 There's another one about the way it changes after it grows back. I'll try to find it and re-post. Love, Peggy

Me, too. Jane, I hope you can get to a computer soon and give us an update on you and your brother. Thinking of you and caring a lot . . . . . Love, Peggy

A couple of weeks after I joined this board someone posted a couple of tips that really helped me navigate the website. I think it was one of the David's, but I can't remember for sure. I searched for his post and can't find it, so I wanted to share this in case others didn't know about this. In the upper right hand corner of the view that I use (it may be in another location on your screen) there are three links that say "View posts since last visit", "View your posts", and View unanswered posts". When you log onto the website, if you click the link that says View posts since last visit, you will see all the posts that have been made since the last time you logged on. Also, if you are monitoring the board, a particular thread, or the latest posts, go to the top of your screen and click View + Refresh and the page will refresh with any new posts. When I am ready to log off, I always refresh the screen, check it and then immediately log off. That way, when I log back in and click View posts since last visit, I know I didn't miss very many new posts, if any. I was on the site for at least two weeks and hadn't noticed the links listed above. It makes it a lot easier than checking each individual forum and really saved me some time, so I hope this helps someone else as well. Peggy

Diane, My dad is in the final stages of his life, and it is very hard to know that this is the case and still keep smiling, but you CAN do it. From what you describe, it DOES NOT sound like this is where you dad is in this struggle and that his weakness and bad days are because of the chemo. If this is the case, then he should feel better once he is off chemo for a while. Most everyone really feels bad and most experience extreme fatigue while on chemo. This may be what your dad is experiencing instead of depression. Of course, I don't know because I'm not there, but it's something to consider. Also, if he truly is depressed, they can give him something for depression, but you probably have to ask for it. It takes a couple of weeks for most anti-depressants to work, but they do work. One more thing, when I go to see my dad, I can tell the minute I walk in the door if he is having a bad day. The first thing I do is acknowledge that fact. I say hi, give him a kiss and rub his forehead. He always looks me right in the eye, and I get real close to his face and just say, "You're having a bad day, aren't you?" He will nod his head yes, and then I smile and say something like, "Well, I'm going to change that" or "Well, you hang on because I'm go get some help and get something to make it a good day" or "Well, it's a good day now - BECAUSE I'M HERE He always, always, always smiles when I do this. I think it just gives him a feeling of being safe. I never allow myself to show any fear, anxiety or emotion about his health. That would scare him and make him more upset to see me upset. I did go to him when we got bad news about my husband and I cried on his shoulder while he patted me on the back and had tears in his own eyes. That was different. He was getting to be my daddy and he was taking care of me. He needs to be kept in the family loop as to what's going on, especially about his 4 kids, and I make sure that he knows what is going on with them. When several of us are there at the same time, we tell jokes, laugh and have a really good time. He does listen and when he's having a good day, he smiles great big and laughs with us (only a little though, because he can't breathe if he laughs very much). I tell him that I paid his property taxes, that his oil bill was $427 and my sister's keeping the grass cut. In other words, I try to make it life as usual to the best of my ability. Daine, I can't believe I've typed so much here, but I really think you can do a lot to help your dad and yourself to get through this easier if you try to be as optimistic and hopeful as you possibly can be. Much love to you and God bless you, Peggy

Hi Norme, I will definitely pray for you friend, and I hope to see posts very soon from him and his wife. Thanks for letting us know about them. Also, please let us know how you are doing. Love, Peggy

Joni, I just love what you wrote. It gave me goose bumps. From now on I will think of all the fighters on here as deserving a standing ovation. I'm so glad you gave us that analogy! Good luck with the Iressa. My husband has also just started Iressa. God bless you, Peggy

Cindy: You have my positive vote on this. I have been intending to ask Katie if people could donate to LCSC and even ask for donations in an obituary. People often put Donations can be made to ______________. I also wondered if they would get a card. This is a GREAT idea and I think it's exactly what Mo would have wanted. Love to all, Peggy

What a nice, thoughtful note, Connie. Don't you just get overwhelmed sometimes when you think of the magnitude of this board and how many people it helps? There isn't a time that I don't get on here and see several guests logged in. We really don't know how many people are genuinely touched and helped by this site and all the wonderful people that contribute their thoughts, experiences, and even their inner, private feelings. Thank you EVERYONE! Love to all, Peggy